Provincial utility bundle costs lowest in the country

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 26/8/2013 (1200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans paid an average of $2,731 in the past year for electricity, home heating and car insurance – the lowest in Canada, according to an independent audit commissioned by the provincial government.

The next lowest tally for this combination of bills was in British Columbia, where residents shelled out $3,324 a year, on average, for these items.

Last year, the Selinger government introduced the Affordable Utility Rate Accountability Act, requiring the finance minister to submit a report each year showing the comparative costs of a utility bundle of electricity, natural gas and auto insurance rates for each province.

This year’s report is to be tabled this afternoon in the legislature.

Ontario had the highest average costs for these services, at $7,666 a year.

The report shows that for electricity, Manitobans paid $844 on average compared with a Canada-wide average of $1,345. For home heating, Manitobans paid $735 compared to the national average of $1,470, while average car insurance costs were pegged at $1,152 in Manitoba compared with $2,014 nationally.

The report will be posted on the Manitoba Finance website after it is tabled in the House.

History

Updated on Monday, August 26, 2013 at 4:51 PM CDT: Corrects cost of bundle in B.C.

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